CREJ

March 2020 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 15 Bridging the Gap evenings and weekends that once offered respite now look like valuable time to catch up if the work has fallen behind or to get ahead if you see an opening in themarket. When a proj- ect is behind, off hours can provide safe harbor to get back on track and avoid uncomfortable business situations. Socialopportunitiesaren’t just forcamaraderie;wehavecon- tacts to make, tend to and grow. That means going to events and meals and activities. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like a choice. Put in the work or someone else will. It’s part of our cultureasAmericans ingeneral, andespecially inthis industry. All the while we have personal lives calling. There are friends, significant others, kids, pets andour extended families. Wehave sports toplay, mountains tohike or ski, movies to see, holidays to enjoy and dinners to attend with folks outside of work. We have lives to build. Compounding the issue is our relationship to technology. Remember howtechnologywas supposed tomake us allmore efficient and – in theory – freer to spend time on the things thatmattered? Instead, we just foundmore things to do. Technology: The End of “Snow Days” Therewas a time not that long agowhen a big snowstorm, a remote vacationor a flight across the countrymeant youwere simply unavailable for a little while. Like it or not, you were unplugged. For better orworse, our constant ability to connect – from30,000 feet or a boat in themiddle of the ocean –means there’s no respite from the strong pull of work. Just one more email. Just one more call. The enormous conveniences avail- able to us also bring a loss of quiet and down time if we’re not careful. Reclaiming Your Time Muchhasbeenwrittenabout this juggleof ourmodernlives. Academics studyhowwe live, howweworkandhowwe inter- act with one another. In fact, these studies often directly im- pact howwe design spaces. They offer insights on our rapidly evolving culture and expectations and propose solutions to make everythingwork better. These new models for working and living compete for me- dia time. It seems like every day, someone is espousing new approaches to technology, timemanagement, designandorga- nizational structures. The pace only seems to accelerate. Many accomplished people in our industry get consumed with the relentlessness of it all and fail at the balance. They get to theendof their careersandtheyweresodefinedby their job that they don’t knowwho they are outside of it. My advice? Find a friend and mentor like Phil. Spend time withpeoplewho remindyou tokeep things inperspective. De- vote space to really thinking about what you want from your life and this industry. Then stay true to yourself. There are spe- cial souls among us who show us that it’s possible to do big things and still have a big, full life. Real success is being able to look back on a lifetime ofmajor accomplishmentswith excite- ment forwhat’s ahead, and your soul firmly intact. \\ C OMM U N I T Y F I B E R / B R O A D B A N D + L A N D D E V E L O P M E N T T R A N S P O R TAT I O N + WAT E R + WAT E R R E S O U R C E S ENTITLEMENTS & REZONING LAND PLANNING INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN & ENGINEERING STREAM STABILIZATION & PERMITTING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE  DENV ER | COLOR ADO SPR I NGS  H R G R E E N . C O M The Aurora Highlands – a community in the making.